Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-01-23
THE OLD SETTLER
Rrr,LLlNG 4 NIGHT OF SIXTY YEARS
AGO.
Angels Honey NeGOnigls a Coon, a Snow Storm
and a Spectre Felstng IN a CABIN
in the Woods and Every
BODY Happy.

H. Not iH NcU l0rt AdU.
Things keep a-happeuiu' an a-hapPen-
in right along, Squire, - said the Old Set
tier. as he looked over the county paper in
the tavern the other day; but tn hain't
never nothin' happen'd yit ez quite come
up. for IN 'ousnesS, TO the circumstances
q, ,nyrls cookin' a coon fur Of Honey Me
Gonigle. way back in the Sugar swamp
J,,strir', one New Years eve, mOren sew
cnty years ago
.;Naior, said the Squire, as the Old Set
tier pauscd to replcniSh his pipe, be We
sure a. yer natural hist'ry on them plntS:
That's tOTable tough charge to slam up
arin angels, Sayin' ez they waS ketehed a
rnokin' a coon. Ne better be Eeertul,
Major ..o,,
who said they WAS kctched ut it?' eX-
claimed the Old Settler, turning Savagely
ON the Squire. An # they had = been
k.trh,d thew mought a been ketched q
Join' O. sumpin' u durn sight wuSS, tur Of
Honey were ~flounderin' in the bOg-hole o
starvation. an he'd gone down an never
I.tr "a hluhhrr Ia tell whar he kertiumlXed,
iii hadn't been fur them angels. Watts
more. b'gosh, they not only cooked that
mir coon. but they huSSeled round an
raptur'd on 1t besides.
Tn, Squire settled back in his chair.
WALL Major. said he reSigncdly, 1T
yrr sure o yer pjutS, all right; but ding
me- If / kin make my idees Of angels Jibe
with their Sloshiu' round in Pike county
hunfjn' roons. Ii kin, major, We kin eat
me, I:ut 10 yer sure q yer Pints, sail IN.
The uld settler glzed coutemptuOuSly ut
the squire for u moment. lit HIS pipe and
proceeded.
Honey Nrjinniglc, said M, had the
nerve tn tack the tuSt piece - CIV IIzatlon
unrrr thu Sugar Swamp deestrIc' that
WAS ever put 0nter that part q.
tE, country. lie done 1t by
com M thar and chopin the tim
her ot"n mchhc u QuaTteTn acre o the
VIRGIN Siir, an h'Istin' up u cabin. No
body never knew'd dzlr'ly wat ever put
n inter Honey's head To do 1t, but tn
were a $ortcr Sneakin' notion got To cir
c'ati'n round the cleIrin'S an none
ON en- WIS higher to Honey's farm
Tim nine milcd, th't he'd hen
a 'Sp,rtin' To hook Ontcr - widder
down i'm Jersey, whlr he drOpp'd from,
but th't the YIddrr had 4 lectlr ditter'nt
iitr uu The Subicc', an had turned To an
mitchell ontrr another teller, witch kinder
twisted ~Iluury'> nlt'ral disposition out n
>hIur. an sent him inter the hOwlIn vii
drrn,st Ia find consultation an peace
'mong>t the bars an the painters, an the
Cttt.muuutS an the VOLTS. That notion
muNt "A hen 'cordin' to the GIc'S, hut
uurhrr it were OF no, thar were Honey on
the iyltylc borders q Sugar swamp, any
how. tllliu' the Land for corn an '~taterS,
an .luku the pclts of'n the o~nsuSpectm'
ban au' other lively SpcctmcntS th't was
m~Iy-rniuuS to tbs Silc a Pike county.
Wind We. Squire, Honey were Il man
rlimhiu' past Gn years old, an he lived IN
his cabin al by hiSSrlf. an had been thar
three year tore any single, solitary durn
other hushwackin' cit'Ziu were took with
the beauties % the Sugar swamp deeStric'
an dug out u rcStiu' plorc fur some more
civilization.
Long fore anybody got to he clusser
urishbors tn nine miled to him. Honey
got so rIawrd mp wunSt by a painter, u
wrrk fore New Years, th't he hrd to lay
w., DAYS ia the woods, hrowSin' on a let
tIr ,ls~yirIx ne happened TO strike nigh
whtr he were hOled, an by the time he
drug hiSScli uut'n the woods an got to his
cabin hr were feelin' 'zif he could eat "a
muSkrat raw, an he didn't hey much push
Iu him. Ii took him halt 4 day to git
hI,k To his cabin; an the chcerin' greetin'
he cot thar were To iud th't somebody or
sumpIn' had cleaned ~ rything Out'n
the cabin tn were in 1t wen
hr went away, an tn vast enough
lrtr ID haIt amouSc-trap. Here were \ sit
tIwatlOn fur u man Il want able TO move
more II half miled IN hour, an Il gettin'
weaker al the time fur lack q sumpin to
chlw. Tn want no hope o any one get
tin M from sprouts Clearin', an Honey
know Il IN want no use o him tryia' tO
nuke his way thar. The only thing he
could do were To doctor h~iS>ell, fur the
painter bites an ClutChc an Starye along
uIl hr could gyt out and knock over a
hurk or Sumpin' an gita meal. Rattle
snake lie done the business Tar the painter
wounds IN = couple ~ days, an then
Honey. ireliE - weak a. "a deer with 4
hail through it, Tines, skinned out in the
w0oiS To see what he could
bring down Tor To stay his stomach.
ilt~ dogs had kept theirSelfS supplied in
the wuuiS, hut they hadn't looked out iuT
hmm. Wall, sir, Honey hunted that day,
an b, hunted the next day, an never sz
much - an OF red fox showed up. \ week
without fodder were Sumpin'. Honey
hadn't never trained hi~Seli To ini'y, an
he Mere lookin' starvation plumb i'm the
itrr lie gruhbcd a little nn birch bark
au sch, hut he were clean down To "A Skele,
ton. an Looked 'dZac'Iy 'Zif he were check,
fur the honyaUd, sure. The day tore
christmas come. an Honey went out Il
try lis luck ugln. lie could list drag
about one foot after tothcr. and he could
not ri no iuTdeU'n the lett band runway,
two miles an a hall from the cabin. n,
h"i Q" set "u the runway, cause he wan
strong enough To stan, an the dogs went
ont "n the ridge. TIL was signs of a bis
snow storm m the air, an Honey knOw'G
that 10 he dIdn't tr>tcn onter a deer OF
>umpm that day, that dly'd be his last
- he >ot, an he waited 10 hear the dog,
clmbln down the hill within deer aheaC
"i rm Tie ~nt, an he >ot. Night come
drawn NIGH. an tn were ANYTHING bur
"'u'tf'ul prospect Iur Honey. The dog
nun give do >Iga that they were in In,
wo"dN az All. Tie sat on the runway iii
IN woods begun To git dark, an the n O
We're tumhlln' down in flakes, thicker
The feathers On a loon. lie know'd TIL
he het 10 git back to the cabin thou.
loNln no time at all, OF else he'd freeze g;
We'll a Niarve, an hcthort that he couldn'
never stan It tO die from more'n one O
tHem cheerful talks at a time. He riz Il
MS ieet, but he were 81 weak he actuaII,
staggered, an 'twere all he could do I,
ur'E along. The wind begun TO how
through the trees, an the snow tore rom,
poor OH Honey, and piled up in his path
an "hackei ag'in him, fust one side AN
Ihen tother, till the leetlc blood he he,
Ieit seemed to him 'zif 'twere turnin' lutte
S''eANS o Ice IN his veins. The wind ev'r,
no" an. then "a watch till Honey wer
Iottenn. long in under some snow-coyere,
ntmlOCk, an then it'd wbirl tbror,b an,